Reunion
by MistyLU
Summary: Through time and space they would be together, never to be parted again.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: I edited the chapter a bit, mostly changing the verbs from past to present. I decided I like the present more!_

_Also, disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

-

_Eun Soo PoV_

I always was a rational person. A practical one. I was good at math and science, not at feelings or poetry and maybe that's why I never really connected with anyone. I rationalized too much.  
Even while running all the way to that tree, the place where I left him dying what looked like an eternity ago, I can't stop thinking.  
Is it really him? Will he be alright? Him being at that tree... it means he's still waiting for me? That he still loves me? And yet, while I only spent one year apart from him, here it has been five years. Five years alone. Can I really hope he clung to those feelings for so long? That he will welcome me in his heart again?  
I know my Daejang, I know how his heart works. He's a man of honor. I was dragged away from him when he wasn't able to help me, failing to keep his promise to protect me forever. So my rational mind keeps shouting at me that it's entirely possible he's waiting for me out of duty. And maybe when he will finally see me, he'll say something like "Now I can finally keep my original promise". And send me back to my own time, going on with his life, just as he did in those five years alone.

And yet... just as my mind is trying to convince me not to hope too much, my heart roars its denial, shutting my mind up.  
No.  
He loves me. He waited for me.  
He longs for me as much as I long for him.  
My mind was what kept me from getting to him for so long, my over thinking about everything, my doubts.  
My heart was what finally guided me there, connecting with him, creating a bridge I could cross to reach him.  
I'm positive of that.  
That Heaven's Gate was never about science and solar flares... it was about hope, and Faith. Our Faith in each other brought us together again and I won't allow my mind to get in the way now that I'm so near to my final destination.  
He will be by that tree and we will never be apart. Ever again.

I run and run and run, finally seeing that tree. I stop just a moment, while the pain clenches my heart again. This field is the one he was dying in, the last time I saw him. Frozen, unable to move, helpless. _Alone._  
Once again, that time, I proved to be just a weak woman, unable to protect myself... and for that he had to pay the price. Why couldn't I break free from Gi Cheol grip? Why couldn't I kick harder, or bite, or throw myself on the ground? Why did I allow him to drag me away?  
The image of my Daejang lying there haunted my dreams since that day. Every day I kept hoping he survived, every day I convinced myself he did. And yet, I kept seeing his frozen body, his blank stare. It was my fault, it was because of me.  
I fight back the tears and run once again. I will make it up for him. I'll spend the rest of my life on that task. I'll never allow him to get hurt again because of me.

The tree, the tree... the nearer I get, the clearer I see. Yes, there's someone by that tree. There is a man, sitting there.  
My heart starts beating faster the closer I get. The man is wearing the Goryeo armor, and his sword is leaning against the tree. That sword. I could recognize it among thousands.  
My throat closes up, almost cutting the air out as I stop running. And the man slowly, slowly turns to me.

It is as if time stopped in that moment. As if the whole world froze around us.  
Tears fills my eyes, almost blinding my sight.  
It's him. It's really him. I found him. After all this time, he's standing there, in front of me.  
I'm chained to the ground, drinking in his sight, filling my eyes with his figure, unable to do anything else than just standing there while he's slowly walking to me. Stand there and smile.  
My heart is chanting, my mind is blank. Can someone die out of happiness? I just learnt it's true.  
How many times did I daydream about this moment? How many lines I practiced, how many things I wanted to tell him when I finally found him?  
_"I told you I would be back."_  
_"Did you wait long?"_  
_"Now I'm here and I won't ever disappear again."_  
And yet... words just don't come. I want to run to him, I want to cry, to laugh, to scream... but the feeling is so overwhelming I can't take even a single step.

Then he moves. He walks to me and slowly raises his hand, untying my hat. It looks like he's in no rush. Taking it off me, his teary eyes never leaves my own and when he finally tosses it on the ground, his hand gently follows the length of my hair, down to my shoulders.  
I'm mesmerized. My head unconsciously leans on his hand and when I feel his fingers on my cheek, I stop breathing. The first touch after so much longing. It's almost too much.  
Looking up my smile softens while I traces his features with my eyes. _He grew a beard... He looks so much more mature now. But he looks so tired as well... Does he sleep enough? Is he injured anywhere?_  
Before I have the chance of voicing my concerns, I feel his hand on my shoulder, softly pulling me in his embrace and then I'm there, in his arms, just where I always wanted to be.  
A strangled sigh escapes my lips and his arms tightens around me, as my head rests on his shoulder.  
"Imja..." I hear him softly call me.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so late..." I finally manage to utter. It's no more than a whisper, the most my strangled throat will allow me, but I know he will hear me.  
I burst out in sobs as I feel his hand caressing my hair and I close my hands in fists on his armor.  
"I tried and tried... I tried so much..."  
"I know. I was always here, waiting for you."

I can't stop crying, hearing at last what I always hoped for: he never gave up on me. He always kept me in his heart. He still loves me. He still longs for me.  
He slowly let me go and looks at me again and when his teary eyes sink in my features, my throat closes again, preventing me to talk. Those eyes of his have the power of chaining me where I am, keeping me from doing anything else than just looking at him.  
He tenderly circles my shoulder with his arm and guides me where he was sitting before, making me lower on the ground, leaning against the tree. Sitting down beside me, his arm rests behind my neck, drawing me in his embrace, nestling my head on his armored shoulder.  
I'm reminded of that time when we ran away from the Yuan envoy, sitting down against a tree. But this time his hand isn't on my shoulder. It keeps stroking my hair, slowly going up and down, like he can't stop touching me.  
"Are you alright?" He asks me, his lips brushing my forehead as he speaks.  
"Yes..." I'm slightly shaking in his arms, my heart galloping so fast I feel I could faint anytime.  
"You survived..." I whispers, holding back new tears "I had to believe you survived, and yet I was so scared..."  
"I had to survive." His voice is low, every word is matched by a soft stroke on my hair. "I had to live. You had to come back to a world where I was waiting for you. I couldn't leave you alone."  
For some reason that makes me cry even more. He waited so long for me, holding on to the sheer hope I wouldn't give up on him. Five years alone, because I couldn't find my way back to him sooner. How stupid I was. I made him suffer so much... my Daejang.  
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." I repeate over and over again, my hand closed on his sleeve, holding the fabric while my face turns to hide in his neck. I can't bear to look at him now. I can't bear to see the despair in his eyes, the long wait, the pain... It was my fault, all my fault. If I had been stronger... If I broke free from Gi Cheol grasp... If only I...

And then I am in his arms again. He hugged me fiercely, his hand sinking in my hair, just like that last time at the inn and my tears stop, held back by a new rushing of emotions that make me hold my breath.  
What is this man? How deeply is he in my heart that a simple touch is enough to make me forget even to breathe?  
"Don't cry, Imja. I never want to see you cry again. Please don't cry."  
His hand tightens on my hair as he pushes me away just enough to look at my face.  
I can feel tears down my cheeks, as my eyes finally raise to look at him. I slowly bit my lip, trying to regain some composure, closing my eyes to fight back the tears and then opening them up again.  
His stare is intent, his eyes looking for any sign of new tears as he speaks again, his voice tightly controlled.  
"Answer me. Never again. Promise me."  
I can't help to smile now. I know that tone. How many times has he used it when he ordered me not to do something?  
_"You can't take a step far away from me."_  
_"You can't go there."_  
_"Don't go sleep that far or I won't be able to protect you."_  
Yes, I know it. I remember it. My heart clearly recalls all the times he used it.  
So I slowly nod, still smiling, still feeling tears in my eyes.  
"Yes, Daejang." It's all I can say, but it's enough.  
He smiles back at me, then his expression turns serious as he asks me, slowly, one word at a time. "Imja... are you back to stay?"

My heart skips a beat. How can he ask me something like that? How can he doubt I will stay forever?  
I open my mouth, about to protest, then I suddenly understand. Wasn't it me, just few moments ago, that doubted he would want me back? Wasn't it me who asked myself if he was waiting for me out of duty?  
Maybe he feels the same way. Maybe he's afraid I came back because I promised I would, not because I want to be with him with every fibre of my being. Maybe he's afraid I will tell him "Now that you know I'm alright, you can be at ease. Now I can go back to my time."  
Or maybe he knows I'm back to stay, just as I knew he still loved me. He just needs me to say it out loud.  
I smile again, raising my hands to cup his face. He's so soft, just like I recalled. I trace his features from his forehead to his cheeks, stopping there, holding his face tenderly.  
"Yes, Daejang. I'm back to stay." I softly answer.  
His lips open in the sweet smile I remembered and I realize he was holding his breath, waiting for my answer. I smile more, my heart just chanting in sheer joy.  
"So now..." He whispers, his hands coming to cup my face just as I was doing. "Will you be with me?"  
I sob again, while smiling. That tone, again. How can he be pleading with his eyes and yet commanding with his voice? "Yes, Daejang."  
"Forever? You'll never leave my side again?"  
"I never want to be parted from you again, Daejang."  
His thumbs softly brush my cheeks, drying up my tears just as his eyes clench tight and one tear finally falls down. It's the first time I actually saw him cry. I saw his teary eyes before, but never an actual tear. I watch as the slow drop leaves his eye, falling down until it stops its slow descent on the corner of his mouth.  
"That word, Daejang..." he says again, opening his eyes, still holding my face. "Say that again."  
Just as that time. Those eyes. Those magnetic, warm eyes. That gaze, able to see just into my soul. I hold my breath, closing my eyes.  
"Dae..."  
The word dies on my mouth just as his lips touches mine, just when his fingers tighten on my cheeks, drawing me to him.  
I let go of his face, my arms moving on their own to circle his shoulders, his neck, holding him close.  
"Never again." He whispers on my lips. "Never leave me again, Imja."  
"Never again." I whisper back, smiling between new tears. "I promise."

_I'll stay with you._  
_I'll protect you._  
_I'll love you._  
_Through time and space, I'm yours. _  
_We'll never be apart again, my Daejang._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

_-_

Young's PoV.

I always wondered, in all the years I spent alone, what I would have done when she finally came back to me.  
Would I hug her? Kiss her? What would my first words be?

I always waited for her. Since the moment I dragged myself to the Heaven's Gate, finding the frozen body of Lord Deok Seong, I knew she crossed that Gate, probably trying to run away from him. And I knew she would try to come back.  
Time flows differently in and out the Gate, I remembered that.  
How much time did I spend in Heaven, when I met her? And how much time was it here, when I came back?  
So, I waited. Maybe she would cross the Gate in Heaven right away, but it could be not right away for me, here.

It took five years. And now she's here, in my arms. I'm still holding her, right next to my heart, just enjoying the feeling of having her close. I never want to let her go again.  
She adjusts in my arms and her locks brush my hands, making me smile.  
Her hair... the first thing I noticed when I took her hat off was that her hair was longer.  
How much time was it for her? How much time did she spend away from me? Trying to find me again?  
I followed the length of her hair down to her shoulder, and when she leaned on my hand my heart skipped a beat. I needed to hold her. I needed to feel her close.  
I can't describe the pain when she started crying, when she uttered how many times she had tried to get back to me. My Imja, what happened to you? Were you in danger? Were you hurt? Why couldn't I be by your side, to protect you? Why did you have to go through all this?

She's strong, I always knew it. I always believed she would come back. I was prepared to wait for her forever, if necessary.  
What I wasn't prepared to face was the pain of knowing she was alone, fighting a war she shouldn't have had to fight, to be by my side. I'm the warrior, I'm the one trained to fight. That's my job, not hers.  
When I made her sit down, my fingers suddenly felt empty. I needed to touch her again, to feel she was real, that she really was there with me. As my fingers slid across her hair, I could feel my heart calming down bit by bit, like the simple warmth of her body next to mine was enough to set my mind at ease.  
But then, she started crying again. It was so anguished... full of pain, of sorrow. She was desperate because she made me wait, because she couldn't come sooner.  
That's over now! I wanted to tell her. We're together, and nothing else matters!  
But I knew it would be a lie. It does matter. It will always matter. What we went through, it will leave scars. A longing heart that was hurt so much, takes time to heal. I know it will be a long time before I can trust to leave her behind, knowing she'll still be there when I come back. I know I'll never want to leave her out of my sight, fearing she'll disappear again.  
And I know it will take a while to convince her it didn't matter how much time she took to come back... that she never really left my heart, she never really left me alone.  
All these years, I was surrounded by her. The jars with the antidote, her clothes, the small yellow mums... the bottle with her medicine. The comb she used. I kept everything she ever touched, to be reminded of her.  
There were times where I would wake up at night, wondering if she was only a beautiful, long dream... but then I just needed to turn my head to see something that belonged to her. No, she was real. She existed. She was just far away, right now, but she would come back.

Isn't it weird how life can make you change? I'm the warrior, I'm the one who leaves people behind, going to war. I'm the one who should return home, finding my wife waiting for me. But for all these years, I was the one waiting.  
I often wondered what I would have done if somehow I found the Heaven's Gate still open when I managed to crawl there, after barely surviving. My instinct would have been to jump in, to go looking for her. To take action. I was forced to wait, something I never did. Wait and trust her. My strong, stubborn Imja. The woman I want to see smiling for the rest of my life.  
My woman.  
I hugged her again, this time with strength. Holding her close wasn't enough anymore, I needed to feel her in my arms. And I needed to see her smile. Enough of tears. Enough of pain. I would protect her against anything and anyone. I would do anything to prevent new tears. My woman had to smile.

-

I freeze for a moment, with her in my arms, when I hear footsteps quickly coming towards us. We're still leaning against the tree and she's smiling at me, after telling me she'll never leave my side again. Those words... I needed to hear them more than I could imagine. I knew she was back to stay, and yet I had to ask it anyway. I knew she wanted to be with me, I knew she needed me as much as I needed her. But was she ready to stay? My world is dangerous and she often paid the price for being at my side. Was she willing to go through all that again and again?  
Because I know it... my life will never be easy. I'm the Commanding General. I'm the right hand of the King, his most trusted man. There will always be wars to fight, against Yuan, Japan, everyone... I'll always be in danger. And her, as my wife, won't have it easy either.  
I held my breath waiting for her answer. I really don't know what I would have done had she answered no. What if she wanted to go back to her world? If she wanted me to follow her?  
But then she smiled, cupping my face and the touch of her light fingers made my heart beat faster and just want to close my eyes and live in that moment forever.  
Kissing her was almost more than I could endure. I never wanted so much to hold someone, to keep her by my side forever. I swear, if someone tries to take her away from me again, I'll tear the world apart, I'll burn it to the very roots to bring her back.  
You'll never leave me again Imja. I won't allow it.

The footsteps approach and I raise my eyes, never loosening my hold on her. She heard them too and she turns around in my arms, one hand closed on mine.  
The shocked expression in Dae Man's eyes and the loud noise of the lunch he was bringing me falling to the ground, makes me almost laugh. My Wudalchi were very close to me in these lonely years. When I returned alone to the Palace, nobody dared to ask me any questions. They just stood there around me, heads bowed, grieving my loss with me. The raisin tea... they kept making it every day, just like she taught them. And it was our daily ritual, every evening: we would gather together, drinking her tea and wishing her back, still feeling her laughter in our barracks or her cheering on the training grounds.  
I think it was their presence, their silent support that kept me sane, that kept me hoping. Sometimes I overheard them talking between themselves... saying how much they missed their High Physician, saying the barracks weren't the same without her, trusting that she would be back soon... there was a time when I heard Deok Man, Choong Suk and Dae Man threatening anyone who would dare to say she would never be back.  
"The High Physician is a strong woman, a stubborn one. Nothing can stop her." they proudly declared, like they were talking of their own mother.  
And in a way, that's true. My Wudalchi are my kids, they always were. They are my new family. And my Imja is part of that family now, in their eyes. Part of us. Part of me.

Dae Man is trying hard to say something, his tongue refusing to pronounce the words. His eyes are wide, full of tears, he can't stop smiling. I look down at my Imja and I smile, raising up and taking her with me. She wants to go and hug him, I know, but I simply can't let go of her hand. Not yet.  
So I smile as well.  
"Dae Man," I say, "go back to the inn and alert the Commander. Ask around for a monk as well." I look at her and her eyes are just shining in happiness while she tightens her grip on my hand. Yes Imja, this is what I want to see for the rest of my life, when I look at you. "We're going to need him."  
And after watching my faithful Wudalchi running as fast as he can back to the inn, I turn to the reason of my life.  
"Are you ready?" I ask her softly, gently squeezing her hand in mine. Are you ready Imja? Are you ready to begin the rest of our lives? It won't be easy, I know that. But I'll protect you. I'll stay by your side forever. I'll never leave you alone.  
"Let's go. Together." She answers me, a beaming smile on her lips.

And then we take that first step, side by side, holding hands. There will be other steps. We will stumble and fall on the ground. We will run and we will even step back at times. But as long as you're holding my hand, Imja, I just know... everything will be alright.  
This is just the beginning.


End file.
